What affect would road bike disc brakes had in today's Giro stage?
The way most of them went down I don't think it was a lack of braking power but of tire to road friction.
I still believe road disc brakes is a solution without a problem

The only way discs would have been an advantage today would be in that instant when you start to apply your brakes in the wet and it feels like the bike almost accelerates. It can cause people to overreact and grab a handful of brake. In wet conditions, it won't take much extra pressure to get a tire to completely lose traction and allow the wheel to lock.

That said, you are dealing with professionals here, so the reality is that discs likely would have made little difference.

Certainly looked slick. But is it possible that some riders went into corners too fast because their brakes couldn't stop them well enough and as a result slid out? Is it possible the once the rims dried out from braking that the wheels locked causing the riders to slide out? To me those looked a bit like what used to happen off road with v brakes in particular. Those were strong but modulated badly. I wonder how an Englishman can seemingly ride so badly in rain.

Some of the carbon rim/brake pad combo's out there might not play well together when wet. As in grabby... Might be no big deal when dry but on lightly-wet roads when you are on the edge of staying upright...

Maybe makes a case for 25mm tire width with some tread (not slicks).

BTW, what do you suppose IS the best-preforming tire on the market for these kinds of wet mountain descents?

Or, perhaps DSs should mandate aluminum rims for poorer riders on wet days with hairy descents. What a concept! (And yes, they throw a bunch of aero away, but they do get a handful of rim weight reduction in return.)

Laurentia, I'll guess the Vittoria tubbie equivalent to the Open Paves is one of the better.

Yes the old standard -- Corsa CX. They do have the green version of that (Pave CG) which seems to have the same tread, only beefier for the...pave. I have ridden many, many a CX down to the casing. Great tires. Still, I think there must be something with a more dialed rain tread out there these days.

Posted By Ben Jeffries on 05/14/2013 01:40 AM
Or, perhaps DSs should mandate aluminum rims for poorer riders on wet days with hairy descents. What a concept! (And yes, they throw a bunch of aero away, but they do get a handful of rim weight reduction in return.)

Laurentia, I'll guess the Vittoria tubbie equivalent to the Open Paves is one of the better.

Ben

The weight loss performance does not offset the loss in performance from aerodynamics,so that particular side of the trade off isn't worth it.
Braking performance of aluminum vs carbon in the wet is a different issue and one that, personally, I would take.

the question that comes to my mind is that, until the peloton wholesale adopts disc brakes the riders run the risk of being caught out with a flat with the neutral service car being of no help whatsoever.